


I Remember Your Face

by wanderingghost



Series: I Dreamt of The Sea [4]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, some fluffy stuff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-20
Updated: 2014-08-20
Packaged: 2018-02-13 23:54:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2170125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wanderingghost/pseuds/wanderingghost
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alistair had actually met Solona before she became a Warden. He still remembers her as that mage that had a ball of water explode in her face.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Remember Your Face

The Circle Tower was tall and intimidating, he remembered thinking as he crossed the lake. As they drew nearer, he had to crane his neck to see the top. To think that one day he might have to live here unsettled him. He never really thought about it until then. Knight Lieutenant Henrik stepped out of the boat first and he followed after the senior Templar. The heavy wooden doors opened in front of them and they stepped over the threshold.  
  
It felt warmer inside and he tugged at his collar while trying to readjust to the change in temperature. They walked down a long corridor until they reached a large room filled with books from floor to ceiling all around them. A few apprentices were practicing spells or reading in a corner. He followed Henrik pass the room and up a long flight of stairs to the second floor. In front of them was a stockroom and several Tranquil mages standing about or tending to their jobs. They passed them, heading down another corridor and then another long flight of stairs. Maker, he was already getting sick of this place. They finally reached the Templar quarters and he started to feel not so out of place anymore. He was led towards the Knight Commander’s office he reported himself in.  
  
The Knight Commander seemed like a pleasant man with a strict face. Though most people in authority seemed strict to him. After a brief introduction to the events that were to follow that night, he was dismissed to roam about the tower. He looked around the Templars’ quarters first, stopping to chat with some of the other fellows that were lounging around in the mess hall. They spoke openly about life in the tower, apparently there was enough excitement to keep them occupied most of the time even if all they had to do was to stand around all day. The mages were entertaining at times and worse than fishwives. He supposed he had to see for himself, so he headed back downstairs. He passed by the First Enchanter’s office, a Chantry and a few rooms until he reached another library. It was smaller than the first one but there were more people gathered there.  
  
He caught snippets of conversation, mostly about someone caught kissing someone. He walked around, snooping through books and tiptoeing around shelves. Finally, he moved on and headed back to the first floor where the giant library was. That place looked much more interesting. He passed the circular room in front of the steps and turned the corner when a sudden rush of heat blasted him in the face. One of the senior mages had hurled a fireball at an apprentice. He was sure that anyone hit by a spell of that intensity would have burnt to ash within seconds. The young apprentice had an arcane shield wrapped around her and the fireball dissipated instantly. He tilted his head to the side to look past the senior mage at the apprentice.  
  
It was a young girl. She had long dark hair that was pulled up into a bun on her head and wavy tendrils framed her small face. Her brown eyes were hard with determination as she maintained her shield and the senior mage blasted another powerful spell at her, this time ice. The shards scattered across her shield and melted away.  
  
“Very good, child,” the senior mage nodded to her. “I think we are ready to move on.”  
  
The girl broke out into a wide grin as she released her shield.  
  
“Now I want you to practice your Stoneskin,” he told her.  
  
She took a deep breath and cast the spell on herself. Her skin turned black for one second before falling off her in flakes. She nodded her head and the senior mage literally set her on fire. She looked down at herself and then up again, shrugging. The senior mage casted a small frost spell on her that removed the flames.  
  
“Alright, that will be all for today,” he said.  
  
“Already? But we haven’t practiced any electricity spells!” she protested.  
  
“Patience, child,” the senior mage chuckled. “We will do all that in due time.”  
  
“Oh, alright,” she sighed. “Thank you, First Enchanter.”  
  
“I am pleased with your progress, you are a first learner,” he smiled. “Now, for tomorrow’s preparation, you should read chapters five to seven in order to understand the basic principles of the spell.”  
  
“I’ll do that,” she nodded.  
  
“Now if you will excuse me, I will return to my office,” he turned around to leave.  
  
“Good day, First Enchanter,” she chirped, heading off to another part of the library.  
  
The First Enchanter started back towards the stairs and then stopped when he noticed him.  
  
“You are not a face that I have seen before in this tower,” he pointed out.  
  
“Do you know everyone in this tower?” he asked him in awe.  
  
“Indeed, I do,” he chuckled. “Ah, I remember now. You’re the recruit that will be present in tonight’s Harrowing.”  
  
“That’s right, you caught me,” he laughed nervously.  
  
“Has Greagoir told you what to expect?”  
  
“Yes, he did, I just saw him,” he told the elder man. “He told me I was free to roam about the tower until tonight.”  
  
“Well, I hope the tower treats you well during your brief stay here,” he said before turning around. “I believe you saw my apprentice earlier? Her name is Solona, if you need anything in particular, she can offer you some assistance.”  
  
“Thank you, First Enchanter,” he nodded and the man left.  
  
He started off in the direction that he had seen the apprentice run off to. He found her kneeling in a corner, picking out a book from the lowest shelf. He waited for her to stand up and turn around. She seemed startled to find him standing behind her and pressed her back against the bookshelf. She looked like a deer caught in a hunter’s trap, the poor thing.  
  
“I’m sorry if I startled you,” he said quickly.  
  
“Um…” she bit her lip. “Can I… help you, Ser?”  
  
“Oh, no, don’t mind me!” he waved his hands. “I’m just looking around.”  
  
She narrowed her eyes at him, brows furrowed.  
  
“I’ve never seen you before in the tower,” she noted suspiciously.  
  
“You wouldn’t, no…” he said. After a pause where she gave him an annoyed look, he thought it better to explain himself. “I’m a recruit from Denerim. Just here to undergo my uh… initiation, I suppose you could call it.”  
  
“Oh,” she visibly relaxed. “Most of the recruits that come here stay hold up on the third floor. This is the first time I’ve met one down here. Welcome, Ser, I’m Solona.”  
  
“And I’m Alistair. Pleasure to meet you.”  
  
“You’re very nice for a Templar,” she had an odd look on her face.  
  
“Technically, I’m not a Templar _yet_ ,” he pointed out. “So you’re the First Enchanter’s apprentice, right?”  
  
“That’s me,” she shrugged nonchalantly but she had a smug expression. “Oh, did he tell you to look for me? Maker, he’s always sending people off to me when he doesn’t want to deal with them himself.”  
  
“Is… that a good thing?” he dared to ask.  
  
“Depends on how you look at it,” she smiled. “So, uh… did you need something in particular?”  
  
“Not in particular, no, I just wanted to see the tower,” he told her. “Just in case… you _know_ …”  
  
“Right, in case it becomes your jolly new home.”  
  
“That’s the one,” he forced a laugh. “So is it always that… exciting in the tower? You know with the fireballs exploding in your face and whatnot."  
  
“Only down here on the apprentice’s floor,” she told him. “It’s _much_ quieter upstairs.”  
  
“Ah, alright, got it,” he nodded. “Sorry, am I disturbing you?”  
  
“Oh, well, not really, I only needed to practice a couple of spells for tomorrow,” she told him.  
  
“Can I see?” he asked, lighting up.  
  
“You… want to see magic?” she stared at him, flabbergasted. “You _want_ to see magic?”  
  
“Why not?” he asked in surprise. “It looks pretty neat. Unless you’re going to throw a fireball at my face, please don’t do that…”  
  
She laughed. “No, I’m not going to throw a fireball at anyone. Well, if you really want to. This is a spell to conjure water, it’s kind of a basis to healing magic.”  
  
“That doesn’t sound dangerous at all.”  
  
She placed her book down on a nearby table and held her hands in front of her. Her brows furrowed slightly as she concentrated her mana. He could feel the swirl of magic around them and a glob of water materialised between her hands, hovering in the air. She pulled her hands apart slightly and the glob grew larger.  
  
“That is cool,” he said in awe.  
  
“You like it?” she looked up at him.  
  
As soon as she did that, the ball of water exploded in her face. She inhaled sharply and looked down at her now empty hands. He snorted and doubled over, laughing hard. He saw her scowl at him before breaking out into giggles herself.  
  
“Alright, that was not how I wanted my first impression to look like,” she said.  
  
“I don’t know, I’m pretty sure I’m going to remember that for a long time yet,” he grinned at her.  
  
She grinned back. She offered to give him a proper tour of the tower, which he accepted. He still had a few hours to kill before the Harrowing. She was an entertaining guide, telling him things that the denizens of the tower usually got up to. The two things he picked up on the most were; one, the mages in the tower were mostly a bunch of hormonal teenagers, and two, they were very good at sneaking past Templars. And all this was not a secret. He actually thought the tower would have been all doom and gloom, seems like he was wrong. They seemed to have been able to find their own fun confined within these walls. Although, they all did wish to be able to venture out into the wide-open world. She dropped him off at the stairs leading up to the Templar quarters and excused herself to return to her study. He proceeded up the long winding staircase and had something to eat in the mess hall. He chatted with a Templar who had just moved into the tower just a month ago from Redcliffe. He looked to be around his own age, and he asked him how it feels. He started to stutter a little and proclaimed that it was fine. He then excused himself and headed off in some direction.  
  
He amused himself with watching a few senior Templars bickering with one another over the price of a good pair of boots. Henrik found him not too long after that and they prepared for the Harrowing ritual. He was brought up _more_ stairs up to the top floor where there was an empty chamber and an impressive display of rose-glass windows. There was a stand in the middle of the room and the Templars stood in a circle around it. He could not see the contents of the bowl on the stand but he assumed it was some kind of enchanted lyrium. He could smell its tangy, metallic scent. Soon after that, the Knight Captain had escorted a girl into the chamber. She had long mousy brown hair and freckles across her face. She looked around nervously. The Knight Commander and First Enchanter explained the ritual to her and she stepped forwards to the stand. She touched the lyrium and there was a brief flash of light. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fell to her knees as if possessed.  
  
“Now we wait,” Greagoir said, noticing him tense up.  
  
Maker’s mercy, no wonder they call it a Harrowing. One of the Templars, who was assigned to be her slayer, walked towards her and unsheathed his sword. He was told that usually, the ritual would be completed within the hour but the hourglass had been turned over twice now. The First Enchanter was starting to worry and Greagoir had started to pace. The girl twitched and everyone in the room turned their attention to her. Her body shuddered and convulsed as she fell to the floor.  
  
“Oh, Angelica,” the First Enchanter heaved a disappointed sigh.  
  
The girl’s robes started to rip open and her flesh swelled and festered, turning purple and black.  
  
“What are you waiting for? Slay her now,” Greagoir barked but the Templar seemed frozen in horror.  
  
An unearthly shriek escaped the now abomination and it lunged itself at the man. Another Templar beside him used his shield to bash the creature off his friend. It flew a considerable distance and the First Enchanter shot a spark of electricity at it. The Knight Commander swung his sword and cut down the abomination swiftly. It took a couple more men and a few more slashes to properly put it down. Alistair thought he was going to be sick. He had casted some silencing spells on the creature but he did not want to go anywhere near it unless he had to. The girl’s face had stretched itself across her head and her hair seemed to have melted and fused with the skin. Abominations were disgusting.  
  
“Are you alright, lad?” Henrik turned to him.  
  
“Yes, yes, I think so,” he nodded, hands on his knees.  
  
“We will stay for the night and return to Denerim in the morning,” he informed.  
  
He nodded his head again, straightening back up. He could not wait to get out of this blasted place. The next morning, he was up and completely ready to leave. Like right now. Right this instant. _Now_. He waited around the entrance doors for Henrik. The rest of the tower felt ominous now, like there was something grotesque lurking in the shadows. There was a soft click nearby and he looked around. A familiar face slipped out of a door on his right. She caught sight of him and smiled.  
  
“Good morning, Ser,” she greeted. “Are you leaving already?”  
  
“Yes,” he nodded. “You’re up early.”  
  
“I was looking for Angelica, I assumed she woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep after her Harrowing,” she told him.  
  
His blood ran cold as he remembered the previous night’s events. He stiffened and took a deep breath. Should he tell her? He supposed she would find out eventually anyway.  
  
“I’m sorry… your friend did not make it through her Harrowing.”  
  
“Oh, no,” her face crumpled into concern. “Is she… or…?”  
  
He shook his head. He knew that the apprentices had no idea what the ritual entailed, and what actually happened to the failed apprentices remained a mystery to most. She sighed sadly.  
  
“I see… this makes me need to practice all the more,” she told him. “When my Harrowing comes, I’m not going to… fail.”  
  
“I wish you the best of luck,” he told her sincerely.  
  
“As you, Ser, Maker bless you,” she nodded and headed down the corridor.  
  
It was then that he decided that this was not the life for him. Forcing mages into the Fade and then slaying them when they failed seemed so cruel. They were already good and kind before all that, it seemed like such a waste of…  
  
Henrik was walking towards him then and he pushed the thoughts out of his mind. Finally, he could get away from this accursed place.

**Author's Note:**

> My first fic on this site! It comes in various parts in a series, and it's about the Warden told from the viewpoints of the people around her. They can all be read as stand alones, but should be read as a whole to get the entire story. Thank you so much for reading, I would greatly appreciate it you left a kudos if you enjoyed the story. Have a lovely day ahead! :)


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